Proud
by PeaceLoveLax
Summary: The boys sitting in the car with you are still Nate and Shane but they now have a title that can never be taken from them. They are United States Marines. Implied Naitlyn and Smitchie.


**Hey everyone! This is an idea I've had in my head since May of last year. It's told in Caitlyn's POV but I took a different style of writing. I saw my cousin graduate from Marine Corps Boot Camp on Parris Island and I saw all the new Marines and their girlfriends and got inspired. I never could find the right words to start it. Now that I have this came very easily to me. The Marine Corps is a big part of my life and I'm not even a Marine! I'm incredibly proud of my cousin and all other Marines. I'm also proud of every member of any branch of the Armed Forces. My trip to Parris Island inspired me to want to become a Marine and I am extremely confident in this one-shot. Thank you all so much!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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You watch as they march across the parade deck in their khaki greens. Every step is perfectly in sync with the person marching behind them. It looks as if someone makes one wrong move the entire march will be messed up.

Shane and Nate are real brothers but amongst them are over 100 of their new brothers and sisters, and the one's who have come before.

They now live by the motto _'Semper Fidelis'_ or 'always faithful'. They gave up their fame on fortune to fight for this country and you're so proud of them.

You look to Mitchie, your best friend, with tears in her eyes. They are not because she's upset but because she, like you, is proud. Your boyfriend and her fiancée have done something few would ever do.

You want to laugh at Nate's appearance. You never imagined him without those brown curls that sat on his head. Now they are gone, just like that. You can't help but think Shane probably had an emotional breakdown when they cut his hair off.

Nate, your eighteen year old boyfriend, is standing there a few people over from his brother, Shane, who's only twenty. They're both so young. The way the are holding themselves is different than you've ever seen before. They're holding themselves with pride. You've seen them proud of themselves before but never like this. They are proud, just like every other man and woman out there.

It's insane how one minute someone says they love what they do so much, then in the blink of an eye they can change their mind. Shane and Nate did that of course. As long as you have known them everything was about their music and they gave it all up to do something better with their lives. At first you didn't know why in the world they would ever do such a thing, but now watching every man and woman stand out there, you know. Your thankful Jason didn't go and do something like this because you and Mitchie need a big brother figure while your other halves are all the way across the country and in a little over a year, the world.

But for right now, both of them are about a hundred feet in away from you and all you want is to jump off the bleachers and be near Nate. You can't yet because they haven't been dismissed.

Every second is eating away at you, then you hear those words the drill instructor screams to them and they yell right back. You watch them break formation, then you and Mitchie are the first ones off the bleachers.

You hear Mitchie scream "Caitlyn, where are they?" but you don't answer because you're way too focused.

Then you spot him. He's hugging and congratulating his new brothers. You saw him yesterday at family day but that seems like a lifetime ago. Soon enough he's right in front of you and all you can do is cry and hug him. He hugs you back. He's so different from 3 months ago. Of course he's skinnier but he is more muscular than he was before and he's grown an inch or two.

He grabs your hand and walks you to where his family is, which only about three steps away. Mrs. Grey pulls Nate and Shane into a group hug. She's crying. She's so proud of her two boys. Jason smiles and hugs his little brothers. Mr. Grey has an expression similiar to Jason's but it's not quite the same. His shows only the love a father could have for his sons.

On the way home, back to New Jersey from Parris Island, South Carolina, he tells you he and Shane will be home for a week maybe two if he talks to his recruiter. That's when it actually sinks in. Nate and Shane are Marines now. The change that occurred within them is forever. They both had what it takes to be one of the few. One of the proud.

The boys sitting in the car with you are still Nate and Shane but now they have a title that can never be taken from them.

They are United States Marines.

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**Thanks for reading. God Bless our Armed Forces.**


End file.
